Along with new materials, household fires have become a great problem. Traditional materials burn more slowly and do not ignite as easily as present-day materials. Present-day materials and electrical devices as well as home appliances ignite more easily and in their fires is created rapidly fatal hydrogen cyanide, for which it has not been possible to develop a sensor or an alarm.
Stoves cause as much as over 50% and electrical devices as much as 80% of household fires. In student residences, the portion of stove fires is as much as 80% and also home appliances accidently left on cause significantly many unnecessary fire alarms, wherein the student residences must be emptied.
Traditional smoke and carbon monoxide indicators often act too late and, in fire situations, as many as 80% of people will already die due to fire gases before these indicators have acted. Automatic fire extinguishing systems also react too late and people die due to fire gases.
It is also known that the kitchen is the most dangerous place in the home in relation to fires, but smoke and carbon monoxide indicators are not recommended in the kitchen because they cause too many false alarms and also do not act fast enough in all situations. In student residences is also used a kitchen door alarm, which issues an alarm if the door is kept open too long. This creates a significant fire risk when the kitchen door is kept shut, wherein, in a real fire, the fire must spread so far that the smoke gets from the cracks in the closed door to the smoke indicator in the hallway.
Also a known technical solution is starting the stove hood fan as a response to stove fumes, but this solution does not prevent fire either. Ventilation devices controlled according to the amount of CO2 also do not prevent fires. Cutting off the supply of electricity in case of an alarm from a fire warning device is not as such suitable in the kitchen due to false alarms.
The indoor air quality of residences is also currently a greater problem as houses are being made tighter. Often the greatest problem is created by cooking and the fumes and moisture created therein. If ventilation is not adequate or a stove hood fan is not used, damage is caused by the fumes and moisture to structures and residents alike. In food preparation, there are also often created carbon dioxide and even carbon monoxide, which, in excessive levels, create health risks. Fumes also cause unnecessary fire alarms when there is so much fumes that they reach smoke indicators that are farther away.